Seal cutter



J. CHICGLO SEAL CUTTER Feb. 12, 1952 Filed April 11, 1947 7 m m m M1 0 mm .m M M m Patented Feb. 12, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEAL CUTTER John Chicglo, Pottstown, Pa.

Application April 11, 1947, Serial No. 740,895

This invention relates to seal cutters. An object of the invention is the provision of a cutter for seals which are applied snugly to the tops of liquor bottles after a cap or cork has been secured in place to the open neck of the bottle; said cutter being inserted over the neck and placed below the closure, rotation of the cutter causing oppositely disposed blades located at an angle to each other to cut the sealfor the removal of the outer end of the seal and for exposing the closure.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a cutter in the form of an elongated and endless metal member that will fit over the top of a bottle to which a seal similar to a hood has been applied to the neck and closure of a bottle, said endless member including side arms disposed at an acute angle to each other with a blade at the inner surface of each arm, said blades being in opposed relation and at an acute angle to each other for engagement with opposite points on the seal so that when the blades are so engaged and the endless member is revolved in a horizontal plane, the seal will be cut, said endless member having an opening between the arms of sufilcient width for the reception of the neck I of the bottle.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a cutter in the form of an elongated and endless metal member having side arms sufficiently spaced to receive the neck of a bottle to which a seal similar in shape to a neatly fitting hood has been applied, said seal enclosing completely the upper neck portion and the bottle closure; the inner face of each arm being equipped with a knife with the cutting edges of the knives being in opposed relation and approaching each other to provide a progressively decreasing space between said knives so that the angularly arranged knives may be drawn against the seal at oppositely disposed points for shearing the hood when the endless member is revolved in a plane which is at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the bottle.

The invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combinations of parts hereinafter more particularly described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a seal cutter constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention, and

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

1 Claim. (Cl. 30-1-.5)'

2 of relatively stiff wire which is approximate circular in cross section except for certain portions that have been distorted to provide special features to accomplish the results intended for the device. The endless member consists of a large open loop II having a passage l2 leading into a small open loop l3.

The wire of the large loop has a reduced portion :4 at the outer end to receive an eye l5 for hingedly connecting a corkscrew Hi to said end of the loop. The corkscrew may be swung outwardly to an operative position as shown in Figure 1, or it may be swung inwardly between the arms I! of the loop H when not in use.

The loop l3 has an accessory for removing bottle caps in the form of three lips 20. The lips which are well-known in the art are compressed into shape when the metal is hot, by dies applied at opposite faces of the metal.

The large loop II has the outer end rounded and this end has a suflicient diameter for the insertion of the top 2| of a bottle 22 so that the loop may be placed below the usual closure 23 which may be screwed on the top of the neck 24 of the bottle in the usual manner, as shown in Figure 2. A knife 25 is formed integrally at the inner face of each arm H. A cutting edge 26 is formed along the confronting faces of the knives. The arms l1 and likewise the knives converge progressively toward each other to the passage l2 between the loops II and I3. On the other hand, the arms diverge from the passage I2 toward the outer round portion of the loop II when the corkscrew i6 is attached. The arms and likewise the knives 25 are curved outwardly of the diverging portions and the knives terminate short of the eye l5 of the corkscrew.

Thus it will be seen that when the cutter is placed in the position shown in Figure 2, with the cutting edges 26 engaged at opposite points on the seal 30 and below the closure 23, the cutter is ready to be operated. Pressure is exerted on the loop I3 in a horizontal manner in order to force the cutting edges 26 in rigid engagement with opposite points on the seal. The device is then rotated in a horizontal plane with the cutting edges bearing against the seal 30 whereby the upper portion of the seal which houses the Referring more particularly to the drawings, I0 I closure 23 will be severed entirely from the lower portion thereof. The upper portion may be withdrawn and the closure may then be removed.

The lips 20 for removing a crimped cap from a bottle and the cork-screw are conveniently placed on the respective loops l3 and II for the benefit of the operator. The loop l3, however,

is employed as an instrumentality for forcing the cutting edges into active relation with the seal 30 while it also aids in cooperation with the loop H for rotating the device when grasped by the hands of the operator. The cork-screw may also be employed effectively during the cutting action for turning the device in conjunction with the loop 13.

The convergence of the arms I! provides a wedging action; when the neck' 24 of the bottle is forcibly contacted by the knives and as long as such wedging action is maintained during r0,- tation of the cutter the hooded seal 30 will be severed circumferentially below the closure 23.

The elongated loop H may be considered a distorted oval in which the portion of the oval at one end of the major axis is roundrand enlarged while the portion at the other end of the major axis is tapered, the tapering starting ap-' proximately at the ends of the minor axis to provide the wedging action for cutting the seal. The wider portion of the loop H will receive the necks of bottles of varying diameters while the converging knives will take. care of the varying diameters of the necks.

The members H and I3 are in effect two open loops which have their free ends joined together to provide an integral formation of an endless member. The diameter of the wire forming said endless member being such that the cutter will 4 be sufiiciently rigid to withstand the strain of the operation without distortion.

I claim:

As a new article of manufacture, a cutter for severing seals of bottle tops comprising an endless member of stifi wire shaped to form a pair of open loops, one of the loops being sufficiently large to receive the necks of bottles of various sizes and having converging opposed arms, a cutting edge integrally formcd on each of the opposed faces of the arms and extending. inwardly therefrom, the other loop being smaller in size than the first mentioned loop and providing a hand grip for rotating the cutter circumferentially around the seal of a bottle.

JOHN CHICG REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 46,149 Walker July 21, 1914 257,982 Schmidt May 16, 1882 1,195,591 Kammer Aug. 22, 1916 2,227,421 Bjork Jan. 7, 1941 2,276,268 Donlon Mar. 17, 1942 2,276,476 Folger Mar. 17, 1942 2,305,642 Sorenson Dec. 22, 1942 

